Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Garmin inReach

Anyone In reach users out there ?
Is the full size worth $100 more than the mini ? I really don't need it for mapping , mainly a satellite communicator instead of renting a Sat phone for elk hunting with no cell coverage and calling up a pack horse when an elk is down or there's an emergency.
Thanks

BP

I went with the mini as it’s mostly there for emergency use and 72hr check-in/weather reports on extended solo hunts. It tethers to your smart phone through an app which is handy as my phone is also my camera so I always carry it. If I drop my pack on a stalk or find a downed animal in the dark, I mark it on the phone app and know where to go through the dark. For me, it’s not worth it spending the extra money. I also recommend the basic yearly plan. There’s very few times a person would go over that plan and in the rare case they would, it’s very affordable and most likely an emergency. Due to having the yearly plan, I now carry it in my bag everywhere I go just because. I do a lot of driving which inevitably leads me into many cellular dead zones.

Feel free to PM me if interested and I can text you some screen shots of the app.
I’d also look into the price of running the basic yearly plan vs. Monthly plans which have the added activation/cancelation fees every time you do so.

Great info , Thank you I'll be in touch.

InReach is now a part of my 11 essentials.

I can't compare the two since I don't own a mini, but I can attest to Nashville's advice about the basic yearly subscription. I never have to worry about activating it for a trip.

From backpacking, offshore ocean fishing, to spur of the moment day hikes in cellular dead spots, it is a great comfort to know I can send and receive texts. Even if it's something simple like "running late" texted to my wife around dark can ease her mind a bit.

You obviously need a clear view of the sky, but I have only had reception issues in deep old growth fir canopies where it is dark even on sunny days, if you know what I mean.

I sure wouldn't like to have to rely on navigation using the mapping feature since the screen is so small. However it makes a great redundant device, so even out on the ocean if all of my main and secondary electronics take a dump for some reason the popcorn trail is still easier than paper charts/compass/dead reckoning.

Haven't tried it in real dense fog, but I don't think that would have any ill effect.

Hope that helps.

I have a mini and it works great for what it is: a very portable, small, light emergency device to send texts when there's no cell coverage or summon search and rescue teams in a life threatening situation.

It works great for that limited purpose. It also is hell on batteries. But I keep a phone and a full gps unit in my pack as well, and don't turn on the inreach unless I'm going to send a message.

look at the 66 series or the montana 700 series

Thanks for the replies and answers .

Don’t know if it’s common, but I switched to the 66i because my phone didn’t always sinc with the mini. Real happy with the 66i.

Yes - a fan of the full size. Bought my oldest daughter one several years ago, and she’s carried it fairly consistent since then.

She bought a permit for a California wilderness trail hike last year. She was solo at one day in on a ten day trip, when a wild fire blew up and cut her retreat off. We were able to stay in contact and pass fire updates to her until she could get to a point on the trail to bail out to a nearby lake, and get linked up for an emergency evac out by the USFS.

I don’t know that the mini would have done any less, or than the full size, but it was worth every penny I spent.

I have the Montana and love it. Mapping is great, works without a phone, and the touch screen messaging makes it a lot easier to deal with since I typically leave my phone either off or in Bluetooth mode. Not having to mess with pairing it to my phone has proven to keep the batteries charged longer on both my phone and the inReach.

The Mini has been flawfess for me over the past 3 years. No complaints at all. Works great, and uses little power. One small solar panel and I'm good for as long as I want to be out.

Definitely a fan of InReach, not a fan of the mini only because it has to be paired with a phone to send messages. If my phone would go down I still have communication capability with a different InReach device.

InReach seems to be preferred over the Spot. Is this because InReach uses iridium vs. globalstar?

In Reach works, Spot does not!

It doesn't have to be paired to send messages, though it's obviously easier.

Exactly. The mini is a stand alone unit. Using the presets to send messages is easy without pairing to your phone. If you want to send text messages or use the mapping, it’s more convenient to pair it to your phone. If you have cell coverage, you can still use the mapping on your phone without being paired to the inreach as well.

I have the mini, and while a PIA to do anything with, it is much more reliable than my SPOT ever was. Once I get the phone app thing figured out I think it'll be spot on (pun intended).

I have used it in elk country as well as on the North Slope and in the thick SE Alaska timber. You need to find a decently clear area in the timber but other than that conditions do not seem to affect it. I have employees who send me daily check in texts via various InReach devices from fly in areas of the North Slope and the system has been pretty damn reliable, though I have heard dead spots for them exist.

Mini works, but I"ve had issues receiving with my phone. Mini gets them, but it's about 50-50 whether the phone gets them. You can read them on the mini and send pre-sets easily, but to type/send a text you can do it, but much easier on the phone. I've made a couple of pre-sets, mostly "heading home" and "just shot an elk" to let my wife know if I will be home soon, or not....

My mistake. I did not think the mini had that capability, thought it only had preset messages. I have the full size version.

Have the Mini. Never go to the woods without ever again. I do the unlimited plan and just activate it from September to November. Wife loves it as I can always reach her from the mountain.